Sergio Perez's crash with Charles Leclerc led to a fight breaking out between Mexican and Ferrari fans in grandstand
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez's Turn 1 incident with pole-sitter and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc led to a big fight breaking out in the grandstands between the supporters of the Mexican and the Tifosi.
The Mexican driver had to retire from the race after getting too much body damage from the crash between him and the Monegasque driver.
In his attempt to get into the lead in front of his home fans, Checo did not leave enough room for Leclerc, who got sandwiched between Perez and his teammate Max Verstappen.
The incident proved costly not just for Sergio Perez but for some Tifosi too, as they faced the wrath of angry Mexican fans. In a video circulating online, a Mexican fan became increasingly violent post Checo's retirement from the race and took his ire on Ferrari fans by physically attacking them.
The man in the video can be seen pushing people aside, including women, and physically assaulting several Tifosi around him. The rest of the crowd eventually took control and threw him off the track.
Sergio Perez analyzes his Lap 1 crash with Charles Leclerc
The Red Bull driver accepted that he paid the price for taking too much of a risk on Turn 1 in his home Grand Prix in front of his raucous fans.
Speaking in his post-race interview, Sergio Perez said (quotes via Formula 1's official website):
"To be honest, I really feel it was a racing incident. The gap was there and obviously, as a driver, you take a risk, going three cars into Turn 1 with these wide cars. I took a risk. I paid a high price for it, but I was also honestly not expecting Charles to brake that late, as he was in the middle so he had a bit less room for maneuvering."
"I was ahead of him, I thought he was going to bail out a bit more but, obviously in those decisions everything happens really late and, yeah, it just happened everything a little bit too late and unfortunately I had a lot of damage on my car. I mean, what else could I have done? I saw the gap, I went for it. I risked it too much, but I wanted the win today," he added.
It will be fascinating to see if Sergio Perez and Red Bull make any statements on the physical altercations between Mexican supporters and the Tifosi in the grandstands in the coming days.